The use of mobile devices as a platform for media consumption is on the rise. A growing number of users are choosing to view media through their phones, tablets, or other devices with screens that are smaller than a typical consumer's television. Some users may wish to watch video content on a smart watch with a square or round display. Video content that is framed and composed for playback or display on a television screen may not be seen or followed as easily on a small screen found on a mobile device. This is especially true for video of sporting events or other types of events that often involve wide fields of view. A standard broadcast view, intended to be viewed on a television, might show a large portion of a playing field or court or concert stage, with players or musicians spread across the screen. But if that same view is displayed on a small screen, for example on a mobile device, it might be difficult to see the individuals or follow the event.
The problem cannot simply be solved by displaying a zoomed-in or enlarged view of video content that is framed and composed for traditional broadcast television. Camera views designed for display or playback on a television use the full field of view to show the action, and the focus of the shot, e.g., the ball carrier, may not always be centered in that field of view. Thus, simply zooming in on the center of the full frame may lose important aspects of the images that fall outside the smaller, zoomed-in, frame. Action falling above, below, or to the side of the smaller, zoomed-in, frame would not be shown to the user. For example, players' heads could be cropped from view, or the arc of a basketball shot may pass outside the frame.
Zooming in or cropping video may also lead to loss of video quality. If video that is framed and composed for television playback is encoded at a certain resolution, a zoomed-in portion of that video may have to be resized for display, potentially resulting in a loss of video quality. Further, if the zooming-in is done at the playback device, e.g., a smartphone, video data is sent to the device that is not used by the end user. For mobile devices, which often have limited bandwidth, this approach is also potentially inefficient.
It would also be inefficient to produce and distribute, in parallel with a traditional television broadcast, a broadcast intended for playback or viewing on a device other than a television with entirely duplicate personnel, equipment, and infrastructure. Video production and distribution for an event involves a significant amount of personnel, equipment, and infrastructure. For example, video production for a typical sporting event involves dozens of people to operate the cameras, direct the camera shots, select and switch which camera feed is “live” for the program, manage the equipment, and coordinate with distributors of the program. There might be more than ten cameras in operation, a local production truck filled with equipment and producers, and a central processing facility that inserts additional content, manages the program, and packages the program for delivery to distributors.
Despite the increased availability and popularity of video playback devices with screens differing in size from televisions, limitations like these have left content providers who wish to produce and distribute video programming for playback on these other types devices, e.g., smartphones or tablets, with undesirable options. Thus, what is needed are systems and methods for providing alternative view video.